


Hallow's Eve

by ice_wraith



Category: Star Stable, Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-01-13 07:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ice_wraith/pseuds/ice_wraith
Summary: This is just a Halloween sort of spin-off that I crunched out for the characters of my SSO Aspects Incarnate fic (how they'd react to Galloper's Keep, mainly). I can't decide whether or not to make it canon to the other fic; if I do decide to run with it, the events of this will probably land somewhere in the middle of the Aspects Incarnate timeline. This was kinda rushed in time for Halloween/Samhain, so it's probably full of errors and weird wording. I may come back and revise it in the next few days if I can find the time.





	1. Cold Comforts

The four riders made their way down the trail, twining single file through columns of sunbeams that cut through the shroudlike chill of the autumn morning.

Each carried their seasonal drink of choice in hand: Drusi and Grace toted along their trademark pumpkin spice coffees, Aaron loudly slurped down the last dregs of his Americano, and Renata warmed her hands around her favored chai latte. 

Shade had initially insisted upon trying a sip of their drinks -- she wanted to know what all the fuss was about with the popular pumpkin spice ones, especially -- but Renata managed to talk her out of it. Ren knew the kelpie would likely suffer no ill effects from the coffees, but she still wasn't particularly keen on the idea of hopping the mare up on caffeine before taking her out and about for the day. 

Aaron tossed his empty to-go cup aside, and Renata gasped at him. Grace and Drusi were yet ahead of them, and likely would have scolded him for littering as well, but they were focused on something in the woods to their left and didn't notice his transgression.

"Aaron." Ren didn't bother hiding the disappointment in her tone.

"What? It's biodegradable. Says so on the bottom of the cup." He shrugged. "It'll be fine."

Shade pinned her ears. Renata opened her mouth to quip a response, but Drusi called back from her place at the head of the line.

"Guys!" 

Ren and Aaron turned to look at their leader; her expression was mask-like and her jaw was tensed. Danger stood stock still beneath her, ears pricked and eyes shining, staring unblinkingly at something just around the bend in the trail. 

Grace, likewise, had paled by several degrees -- her skin tone was now alarmingly close to the pallor of Rocky's stark-white mane. 

Unbidden, Shade pushed her way past Northwind, carrying her rider along with her. 

Ren allowed the mare to walk ahead of the rest of the group in order to get a better look at what Drusi and Grace had seen. Her hands trembled; she could hear the slosh of her drink in the tremoring cup, and she did her best to steady herself. 

She was damned if she was going to spill her chai latte this early on in the day.

"What's wrong?" she ventured.

_Dark magicks_, was all Shade said.

When she reached the bend in the trail, she immediately realized what had made Drusi and Grace freeze up. A little ways into the forest, off to their left, was an ominous, glowing portal.

It certainly hadn't been there before; Ren and Shade took these trails often. They definitely would have noticed something like this -- which left them with the uncomfortable implication that whatever had opened the rift between worlds was likely still out and about.

Tendrils of sickly green light tainted the warm hues of the fall forest around them. The portal itself smelled of moldering ruin and decay; Ren swore she could hear someone whispering from within.

At least the magic emanating from the cursed thing wasn't pink.

"Should we tell somebody about this?" Grace asked.

"Later. Hold this for me, please," said Drusi, handing Grace her cup of coffee. "Danger and I will go in first. If it is safe, we should be right back out. If it's not, we can make a jump back to Jorvik. Or through Pandoria. Whichever one is closer." She shortened her reins and nudged Danger's sides. The warmblood stallion started forward with little hesitation, evidently curious to explore the mysterious portal. The pair of them sidled past Renata and Shade; embers of small wings-to-be flickered forth from Danger's shoulders. 

"Be careful!" Grace's voice sounded weakly from behind them.

Drusi turned, gave her friends a nod, and then she and Danger stepped through the greenish rift. The portal emitted a slight hiss when the Sun and her horse disappeared, and with that, they were gone. 

The light seemed to gleam and brighten before darkening again, and a heavy, greyish mist rolled forth to curl about the remaining horses' legs. 

For several long moments, everyone remained silent, anxiously watching the surface of the portal for Danger's pricked ears to emerge. Ren was contemplating going back and asking the druids for help when a familiar silhouette appeared.

The black chestnut pegasus trotted forth from the portal, with Drusi still safely perched on his back.

Grace sighed audibly with relief.

Danger shook himself out, folding and extinguishing his wings. He chewed at the bit thoughtfully, but did not seem overtly disturbed by what he'd seen. His rider, on the other hand, sat rigidly in the saddle and didn't bother hiding her shudder.

"It is not Pandorian. At least, I don't believe it is," Drusi said. "Come on. It's safe enough to bring the horses. There's solid ground on the other side, and I could use you guys' help exploring the place."

Danger wheeled on his haunches, turning to face the portal again as his rider kicked him forward. They trotted back through without incident.

Grace and Rocky followed closely just behind them, and Aaron encouraged Northwind along behind the silver dapple.

Shade and Renata lingered behind, last of all.

"Ready?" Ren asked, resting a hand against her mare's damp mane. "You seemed so keen on investigating this thing a moment ago."

_We are always ready_, Shade replied, her tone in mock affront to the suggestion that she might be nervous. _Our herd is waiting for us, so forward, we shall go_.

The kelpie mare ambled towards the rift without waiting for any further input from her rider. The mist stung at Ren's eyes as they approached the portal's surface, and just as they crossed the magickal threshold, everything went dark.


	2. The Keep

A horrible, heavy sensation crept over Renata. She envisioned herself swimming alone in a cold, dark ocean, when suddenly, something grabbed her ankles and dragged her into the depths below. She shuddered, and realized she was still safely seated on her mare's back. Given the rhythmic sway of the kelpie's shoulders, they were walking; in fact, they had already come through the other side of the portal.

She gripped the coffee in her hands, hoping the warmth would lend her some semblance of security, but the remaining liquid had mysteriously gone ice cold.

Ren blinked, and blinked again. The other side was much darker than the autumnal morning they'd left behind -- her eyes had not yet adjusted. The young woman could just barely make out the lights of torches lining a wooden bridge across the darkness ahead of them. Beyond that, the silhouette of a crumbling, impossibly still-standing keep could barely be discerned.

Shade stopped just shy of bumping into their friends; her eyes had adjusted much more quickly to the darkness. The horses shuffled about, mirroring their riders' uncertainty. 

"Where... where is this?" Aaron asked. Ren noticed the pale whites of his knuckles as he shortened Northwind's reins. 

"It doesn't seem like Pandoria to me," Drusi answered. "It definitely isn't pink enough. It feels off, as well. Although, I may very well be wrong about that." The conviction in her voice suggested that she believed otherwise, but had offered the words anyway as an attempt at placating the others. She nudged Danger over towards the bridge. "This is not a cliff. It seems to be some sort of... abyss. We will cross first, but everyone needs to watch their step."

The four riders arranged their horses, single file, and trailed after Drusi and Danger as they picked their way across the precariously-constructed bridge.

Renata contemplated taking a sip of her latte, but then remembered that the jump into this realm had ruined it. Frowning, she concluded that she had no use for it anymore. She chucked the cup over the railing and watched dismissively as it plummeted into the abyss. 

Aaron noticed, and turned in his saddle to glare at her.

"Oh, so it's okay if _you_ litter," he stated sarcastically.

"This isn't Jorvik. The nebulous abyss is fair game for discarding waste," she replied.

The dark-haired lad laughed.

"You think it'll keep falling forever, or will it come back around and land on your head eventually?" he asked.

Renata smiled, stifling a laugh at the image. She'd deserve it.

"I hope so. It'd confirm a few things about how this realm works, at the very least."

Before Aaron could respond to her, one of Danger's hind hooves cracked through a weak plank in the bridge. 

Grace screamed. Rocky reared, showing the whites of his eyes as he backpedaled away from the hole in the bridge. Danger himself lurched forward, clattering across to the other side safely as his rider furiously tried to prevent him from bolting any further. 

"It's okay! I'm okay," Drusi shouted back to them. "Watch for loose boards!" She added, with a fair helping of sarcasm.

The three remaining riders managed to make it across the bridge, their horses picking their footing deliberately and carefully as they went. This left the four in front of the looming keep; they glanced around, unsure of how to proceed. Renata noticed another torchlit bridge off to their right, and pointed it out to the others.

"Where d'you think that goes?" 

"Not sure," Drusi replied, patting Danger's neck. "I'm going to keep exploring the ruin here, though, if it's all the same to you."

Renata looked between Drusi, the second bridge, and back again before shrugging.

"I'll go check it out, then?"

"I don't think we should split up," Grace said nervously.

"I'll go with Ren," Aaron offered. "It'll be fine. If you hear screaming, come help us, or something. But I'm sure we'll be fine."

Drusi nodded to him brusquely, and then turned Danger towards the crumbling keep. Grace shuffled Rocky along behind her, casting Ren and Aaron one last worried glance over her shoulder before riding away.

Ren sighed, nudging Shade across the second bridge. Aaron and Northwind followed; fortunately, they all managed to cross without incident. The make of this bridge seemed to be of higher quality than the other -- at least, given its lack of rotting boards, it appeared to be better suited to carrying the weight of crossing equines.

There was a barn, of sorts, on the other side. It was in as poor shape as the keep across the way, although the presence of straw bales and loose bedding suggested it had seen recent use. A sense of foreboding hovered over Ren as they wandered around and investigated the empty boxes.

"Don't like the looks of those," Aaron said, eyeing the scorched hoofprints that marred the stone floor of the stable. Northwind snorted warily in agreement.

"Sabine?" Ren queried. The prints seemed too large to be Khaan's, but she couldn't be certain.

"No. These are huge. Khaan's tall, but he's not that heavy. It'd have to be a large draft, even bigger than Northwind, to leave that kind of imprint on stone."

They were silent for a few beats, wondering what kind of cursed animal would leave such traces, when they heard a shuffling sound emanating from one of the ruined stalls to their right. 

They turned just in time to see an eerily orange equine face emerge from the shadows, sporting an unnatural Glasgow smile. Instead of a mane, the equid appeared to be growing pumpkin brambles down along its neck. Its eyes sparked mischeviously from under the shadow of its brow.

Just behind it, another horse seemed to be hanging back -- although, calling it a horse outright would perhaps be a bit too generous. The second equid looked to be comprised of twisted, rotting wood, with shelves of bioluminescent fungi erupting from its neck and flanks. The wood-horse appeared hollow, and the pinpricks of its eyes shone similarly to that of the pumpkin horse's.

Aaron and Renata each sat stock-still on the backs of their mounts. Shade, however, took a cursory step towards the strange creatures. She kept her ears tipped forward apprehensively.

"Don't," Renata warned. 

Shade huffed.

_We are not planning on eating them_, she reassured with a hint of bitterness. _In fact, they are like us_. The gray mare arched her neck in curiosity.

Renata balked. "What do you mean? Are they kelpies?"

_Not quite_, Shade replied. _But they are separated from their courts, like us. We understand_.

Ren dismounted, approaching the strange horses slowly on foot. She reached her right hand forward, palm upwards, and stopped a few paces away so as not to crowd them.

The gourd-horse stretched its neck forward to sniff the young woman's hand -- the wood-horse, however, did not respond. The warped mare continued staring blankly with her head canted at an odd angle.

_Blind_, Shade said suddenly. 

Ren turned back to the gray mare. "Blind?"

_Yes. Rather, she is watching us through something other than that body._

Ren didn't like the way her mare had worded that, and repeated the kelpie's thoughts aloud to Aaron.

"What? How do you figure any of that?" Aaron asked, dismounting Northwind and stepping forward to stand beside Ren. He reached a hand out for the gourd-horse as well, and was rewarded with a friendly greeting sniff. The pumpkin-mare seemed to take to the lad; she even allowed him to reach up and pat her on the forehead.

Shade glanced around for a moment, surveying the wood-mare with a studious pale eye before trotting over to a small cluster of mushrooms near the edge of the dilapidated barn.

_Here_, the kelpie said. _Given the angle of her head, she is watching us from hereabouts_.

The wood-mare whickered as Shade approached the mushrooms; the gray took the hint, and cautiously kept her distance from the glowing fungi. 

"Huh," Ren said. "Never seen anything like that. The druids never mentioned anything about horses with magicks like this, either." 

Without warning, the wood-mare took several purposeful strides to close the distance between herself and Renata. Stopping, the eerie horse pressed her muzzle into the crook of Ren's neck, and whuffed so that her peat-breath ruffled the young woman's hair.

Renata tensed up despite knowing the gesture was a friendly one -- Shade had nearly killed her by biting the exact same spot on her neck, in the vision she'd had over a year ago. The wood-mare seemed distantly aware of this. She did not react with offense despite the stiffening of Ren's posture, and her eyes glinted with a playful peevishness. 

The young woman took a step back and gave a cursory curtsy, in case the mare was some sort of fae. She did not respond to the gesture, and instead continued to follow Ren closely. 

Nervous, the pale-haired girl looked to Aaron for help, but he was busy dispensing pats and scritches along the gourd horse's neck. 

"You think we could get away with bringing these guys back with us?" Aaron asked. "Pumpkin-chunk here could do with some snacks and a warm stall, I'm sure." 

Northwind laced his ears.

"Aww, she has such a sweet personality though," said Aaron. "Might even lighten you up a bit, you old grump!" He teasingly clapped at the draft's shoulder, provoking a swished tail and a tired glare in response.

Being that Aaron clearly wasn't about to assist her, Renata contemplated giving the blind mare a swat or a push to prevent herself from being stepped on. Upon seeing her rider's discomfort with the unfamiliar equine's lack of personal space, Shade apparently decided to step in and help. She approached the wood-mare and stood closely alongside her, keeping her shoulder against the other mare's.

_She cannot process her surroundings quite as well as we can. She is following closely for the sake of guidance, not for the sake of insinuating offence_, the kelpie explained. Renata immediately felt sorry for wanting to push the strange mare away. 

The young woman opened her mouth to apologize to the wood-mare and reached out to pat her in penance, but was interrupted by the sound of a distant scream. 

Her gaze met Aaron's automatically -- his jaw was tensed, and his eyes were wide.

"Grace?" He asked. His voice held even, to his credit.

"Yeah. That sounded like her," Ren replied, already hopping and grabbing mane to clamber aboard Shade. Aaron followed suit, and the two riders bolted back across the bridge towards the keep, failing to notice the gourd-horse and the wood-horse trailing along behind them.


End file.
